By SUSAN JONES
The state budget for Pennsylvania is constitutionally required to be passed by June 30, but that deadline hasn’t been met since 2021. And this year is no different.
Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) said at a news conference on June 18 that there was “no practical way” that a state budget will get done by the June 30 deadline. But, he said, even without an agreement, “On July 1, the sun will come up.”
Negotiators met through the weekend, and Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pittman said progress is being made, according to the Post-Gazette.
Major sticking points include: Spending on Medicaid and transit systems, and taxing so-called “skill games,” the slot-like games found in restaurants and bars that makers say are not just pure chance and require a level of human skill.
So far, there’s been little movement on funding for Pitt and the three other state-related universities — Penn State, Temple and Lincoln.
Shapiro’s budget proposal for 2025-26 keeps funding for the state-related universities at the same level as last year, with the addition of $60 million for Pitt, Penn State and Temple to be distributed based on the recommendations of the Performance-Based Funding Council.
The council made its recommendations in May on what criteria should be used to distribute that money, but the state legislature must approve both the $60 million in performance-based funding and the council’s recommendations.
Last year, Pitt got about 7% of its $3.2 billion operating budget from the state, which includes $151.1 million in general support and $3.8 million in rural education outreach, along with various money for capital projects like the renovation of Hillman Library. The amount of general funding Pitt has received from the state has not changed since 2019. For comparison, in 1975 the state's appropriation was large enough to make up about 32% of Pitt's budget.
The general funding that Pitt gets from the state all goes toward discounting in-state tuition, which in 2024-25 added up to about $16,000 annually per student. The state money supports 60 percent of this discount; Pitt covers the remaining 40 percent.
Past budget impasses
Pennsylvania has a very closely divided legislature by political party. In the House, Democrats have a one seat majority — 102 to 101. In the Senate, Republicans have a 27 to 23 majority. This close division has frequently led to extended debate on budget bills.
In 2024, Pitt’s Board of Trustees was prepared to vote on the University budget in early July with or without a vote by the state on its budget. But somehow the stars aligned, and the state budget was signed the day before the trustees’ vote.
A long budget impasse in 2023 forced Pitt trustees to vote on the University budget in late July, well before the funding for Pitt and the other state-related universities — Penn State, Temple and Lincoln — was approved in November.
The Pitt Board of Trustees Budget and Finance committee and the full board have public online meetings scheduled for July 11, when they are likely to approve the 2025-26 University budget. The budget needs to be approved during the summer so that Pitt can let students know what tuition rates will be for the fall.
For 2024-25, most in-state students on the Oakland campus saw a 2% increase, and 4% for out-of-state. There was no tuition increase on the regional campuses.
Pay raises
Dwayne Pinkney, executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance and chief financial officer, said at a June 11 town hall webinar that the administration has proposed a 2.5% salary pool for the 2025-26 fiscal year, which would have to be approved by the trustees.
If approved, the increase would currently only apply to non-represented faculty and staff. Salaries for faculty represented by the United Steelworkers are spelled out in the Union of Pitt Faculty collective bargaining agreement.
The Pitt Staff Union, which represents roughly 6,300 Pitt employees, is currently negotiating its first contract, also under the umbrella of the USW. The bargaining committee said earlier this month it rejected the University’s “take it or leave it” deal, in which the union would have to agree to the higher health and dental insurance costs that non-represented staff will have in fiscal year 2025-26 in order for bargaining unit staff to receive raises for the same period. All staff members who are in the bargaining unit (see the latest list here), whether they join the union or not, are covered by any decisions made by the union.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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